Simon Wilson profiled as Sheffield Wednesday close in on sporting director appointment
Sheffield Wednesday are poised to make another key appointment in the form of Stockport County CEO Simon Wilson.
Sheffield Wednesday are closing in on the appointment of Simon Wilson as their new sporting director, marking another big tick on Arise Capital Partners’ to-do list.
The Star understands Wilson was identified late last week as the man the Wednesday hierarchy wants to assist with their project to take the club forward. He is believed to have spent time at Hillsborough on Tuesday, getting to know key Owls staff members.
David Storch, prior to securing control of the Owls, spoke passionately about building an off-field structure at Hillsborough, meaning the recent appointment of David Bruce as the club’s new chief executive and Wilson’s impending arrival highlights just how quickly the new ownership group wants to lay foundations in S6.
With Wilson on the cusp of joining Wednesday and filling a sporting director role which was never utilised during Dejphon Chansiri’s time at the helm, The Star has produced a profile on the outgoing Stockport County man ahead of his expected arrival at Hillsborough.
Who is Simon Wilson?
Wilson, 43, has a history of working in various off-field roles in football, ranging from performance analyst to chief executive. Currently the chief executive at Edgeley Park, it was announced last month that he will leave the club when this season reaches its conclusion.
Stockport finished in the League One play-off places this season and currently have a 1-0 lead over Stevenage at the halfway stage of their semi-final encounter. The second leg is taking place this evening (Wednesday).
He joined the Greater Manchester outfit in 2020 and worked closely with owner Mark Stott, drawing up a seven-year plan to take Stockport from the National League to the Championship.
What has he done so far?
A Football and Science graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, Wilson started his career as a consultant with ProZone, which is a company that helps clubs analyse player performance. He then joined Southampton as a performance analyst in 2002, becoming only the second full-time analyst employed by a UK club at the time.
During his time at St Mary’s, Wilson went on to become head of performance analysis before departing in the summer of 2006 to join Manchester City. He spent three years in that particular role at the Etihad Stadium before becoming strategy and performance manager.
That role saw Wilson take on responsibility for the development of all first-team and academy departments alongside City’s director of football. Through the City Football Group, who own New York City and Melbourne City alongside Manchester City, he later became director of football services.
Wilson left the City Football Group in 2016 and joined Sunderland, becoming their chief football officer. Working at the Stadium of Light during the Martin Bain and David Moyes era, Wilson was tasked with trying to reshape the club’s football operations during what was a turbulent period for the Black Cats.
In 2018, he started a football consultancy working with top flight clubs and organisations including the Premier League, UEFA, AFC Ajax, FC Copenhagen, Sparta Prague, Levski Sofia and Leicester City. He then joined Stockport in 2020 and it is there where his stock has considerably risen.
Joining the Edgeley Park outfit in 2020, Wilson was originally installed as Stockport’s director of football. Stockport were in their ninth season in non-league football at the time after relegation from League Two back in 2011 and Wilson, alongside owner Stott, created a plan to try and take the club to the Championship in seven years.
After five years as sporting director, Wilson was promoted to chief executive at Stockport in February last year, replacing Jonathan Vaughan.
Escaping the National League as champions at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, Stockport celebrated promotion from League Two just two years later. Narrowly missing out on successive promotions last term, finishing third in League One and losing to Leyton Orient on penalties at the semi-final stage of the play-offs, they are now hoping to go one better and achieve their Championship dream a year ahead of schedule.
Why is he leaving Stockport?
In a statement issued by the League One club last month, confirming Wilson will depart at the end of this season, Stockport confirmed it was always planned for Stott and Wilson to review their plan after six years.
“From the outset, it was agreed between owner Mark Stott and Wilson that they would review its position after six years with a view to what the long-term future held for all parties,” Stockport said in a statement.
“Following those discussions, it has been mutually agreed that with the main growth phase of the club completed, the next chapter would be focused on long-term sustainability.”